Information Literacy
Spring 1999
Questions: Is pornography a key factor in the bias that persists against women because of the way it presents women as vulnerable, sexual objects? Does objectification and vulnerability lead to sexual harassment and/or violence? Is there a correlation between sex offenders and pornography viewing?
Keywords: pornography, pornography--social aspects, pornography--moral and ethical aspects, pornography and violence, feminist theory, women-crimes against, sex education--psychology.
When researching the topic of pornography, I stumbled upon a lot of bias. It seems that there are far more materials available that reflect leftist standpoints, arguing against the pornography industry, rather than those materials that present pornography as a positive medium of fantasy and expression. Many of the materials that I found contained excerpts from Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon, whom I know to be very reputable feminist, anti-porn activists. Since I share the same basic views on the subject as Andrea and Catharine, it was important for me to remain objective, and gather material to support views from both sides of the pornography spectrum.
The most useful keywords that I used were pornography--social aspects. These words were listed in the keywords section after each piece of useful material that I found. I originally found this set of keywords upon my finding my first book source. I first did an advanced search in PALS using the words: pornography and violence, these words were not very effective.
Reference Books:
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When beginning my search for reference books in
PALS, I did a keyword search for encyclopedias relating to my topic. After a few attempts at using the keywords encyclopedia and pornography in both
basic and advanced search mode, I broadened my topic by doing a general keyword
search for any encyclopedia containing the word “sex” in the title by typing: encyclopedia and sex. There were too many matches to this
search. I decided that my topic is more
relative to a behavior, rather than the act of sex. I changed my keywords to: encyclopedia
and sexual behavior. Eureka! I found two matches that suited my topic.
Mosher, Donald L. (Pornography). Bullough,Vern L. Human Sexuality An Encyclopedia. NY: Garland Publishing, 1994. 470-6.
This article provides general information from various aspects of pornography, such as history, controversy, evidence of its effectiveness, a general definition, and pairing pornography to fantasy. This article is not bias, rather it contains all factual information.
MCTC owns this encyclopedia.
Francoeur, Robert T. (Pornography and Erotica). Francoeur, Robert T. The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. NY: Continuum Publishing Co, 1997. 3: 1575-9.
This article, located in the United States of America section of the encyclopedia, provides an in-depth view of the argument as to whether or not pornography leads to violence in the U.S. There are also commission studies outlined as to pornography’s role in sexual violence and anti-social behavior. This article is not biased, it’s a very bare bones view of the notion of pornography possibly leading to violence, and possible causative factors. The commission studies were government funded, and the information about them is statistical, and factual.
MCTC owns this encyclopedia.
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I did an advanced search in PALS using the keywords pornography and violence, and found the
following citations:
Kipnis, Laura. Bound and Gagged Pornography & the Politics of Fantasy in America. NY: Grove Atlantic, Inc. 1995.
This book is an effective source for challenging any of my personal bias, since is argues that pornography is not about violence, but fantasy. Kipnis claims that pornography offers psychological release, and feeds our individuality by offering what is forbidden by society. Kipnis views pornography as “socially constructive”.
MCTC doesn’t own this book. This book can be found at the following libraries: MSU, SMU, and CSB. I would request it through interlibrary loan.
Davidson, D. Kirk. Selling Sun, the Marketing, of Socially Unacceptable Products. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 1996.
This book proposes that the marketing and selling of certain products (pornography included) causes hostility, not necessarily in those who consume the products, but in third parties. Although the book seems to be based upon a personal theory, there is information to back it up. Also, if the book were based solely upon the fact that Pornography was the only “socially unacceptable product” then, it may suffer from bias. However, pornography is not the only “unacceptable” element discussed in the material.
MCTC doesn’t own this book. The book can be found at the following libraries: MSU, SMU, and CSB. I would request it through interlibrary loan.
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I did an advanced search in PALS, using the subject
heading, pornography-social aspects,
and found the following citation:
Stan, Adele M. Debating Sexual Correctness Pornography, Sexual Harrassment, Date Rape & the Politics of Sexual Equality. NY: Dale Publishing, 2/95.
This book is a compilation of feminist essays from debates of the 80’s and 90’s against the pornography industry and it’s role in current sexual politics, inclusive to rape and sexual harassment. There are many different authors offering varying viewpoints, but all are in agreement about the negative aspects of pornography. The book definitely has a feminist slant to it.
MCTC doesn’t own this book. This book can be found at the following libraries: MSU, SCS, TRC, CEN, MEC, IHC, UCR, MWW, GAC, CSB and SJU. I would request it through interlibrary loan.
Mackinnon, Catharine A., Dworkin, Andrea. In Harm’s Way, the Pornography Civil Rights Hearings. Cambridge: Harvard University press, 1998.
This book contains oral testimony of victims of pornography. The book contains a set of hearings from the year 1983 in Minneapolis to 1992 in Massachusetts. Authorities on social-science in relation to rape, battery, and prostitution support the idea that the first amendment should not protect pornography because it leads to sexual abuse toward women, as well as women’s inequality.
MCTC doesn’t own this book. I found a review of it on the Amazon.com website. I would request it through interlibrary loan.
Gibson, Pamela C. Dirty Looks Women, Pornography, Power. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993.
This book compares the writings of both pro-censorship, and anti-censorship authors. The book goes into a “deeper understanding of the place of porn in contemporary culture and society”. Since the book contains both views of pornography, bias is relative to the personal view of the reader, which I would try to escape from if I were to actually base a research paper upon the material of this book.
MCTC owns this book.
Christensen, F.M. Pornography, the Other Side. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 1990.
This book claims that the absence of pornography would only stimulate perversion. The author claims that the fact that women claim to be sexually harassed as a result of pornography is “proportionately trivial” in relation to the positive points of pornography. The author also state’s that we should move toward a society in which women could better cope with their own sexual needs. This book is extremely male-centric, and would tend to polarize the reader. I still find it useful, however, in combating the strong opinions of Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin.
This book is not MCTC owned. This book can be found at BSU, WSU, MSU, SSU, SCS, TRM, and ARC. I would request it through interlibrary loan.
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I then went to the University of Minnesota Library
catalog and did a search using the subject heading, Pornography--Social aspects, and found the following citation:
Dines, Gail. Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality. NY: Routledge, 1998.
This book contains seven different studies based upon pornography and male consumption. Behavior and social effects are examined. Although the studies stemmed from the same hypothesis, and arrived at the same conclusion, there are seven different analyses, which seems more credible than if there were only one study claiming a certain result.
I would request this book from the U of M through interlibrary loan.
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In the PALS General Magazine index, I did a keyword
search in the General Magazine Index using the word pornography, and found the following article:
Leuchtag, Alice. (The Culture of Pornography). The Humanist. May-June, 1998. Volume 55: Number 3: p.4(3).
This article states that pornography and prostitution socially subordinates women, and that coupled, they could be the key reason for the power gap between the sexes, and therefore, inequality and hostility against women. The article contains excerpts of essays by journalists, scholars, and historians, including Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Mary Wollstoncraft, and the late Emma Goldman.
This magazine is not owned by MCTC. Full text is online.
Web Sites:
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I did a search in Yahoo! Using the keywords “pornograph*
AND violence” and found the following two web sites:
This is the site of a radical feminist zine that contains various statistics and facts concerning rape, pornography, and power. It contains excerpts from many leftist writers. Though the zine is obviously from a feminist standpoint, there are many different notable authors referenced, which makes it a credible source.
Judith A.Reisman, PhD. Images of Children, Crime, and Violence in Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler. www.iglou.com/first-principles/abstract.html
This web site contains the results and research techniques of a study done under a grant by the US Department of Justice. Principal Investigator Judith Reisman notes that in a content analysis of 373 Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler magazines, there were an estimated 14,854 images of crime and violence. The study seems very sound and is from a credible source. Although the study only measures those images that in some way reflect violent crime and does not necessarily state whether or not those images are conducive to violent behavior, I still find the material to be statistically useful.